Public Enemies - Review

I saw this film last night, and here's my review: "It was alright." Stick that on your posters Universal Pictures!

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Depp was very good as Bank Robber extraordinaire John Dillinger, 'Edith Piaf' was very good, Christian Bale was very Christian Bale, if you know what I mean. Michael Mann made it all look very shiny as he usually does (plus, this was essentially 'Heat' set in the 30's; driven bank robber is chased by driven lawman), but it was missing an emotional centre for me. I wasn't rooting for anyone. There was a slight injection of romantic tragedy in the last minutes, but by then it was too late.

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So in summary; better than Mann's 'Miami Vice', but no match for 'Heat'.

Best Albums of 2008 - Part 2

5. Kings of Leon - Only By The Night

Everybody loves the Kings. Their sold-out Arena tours twice a year proves it. Yes, 'Sex On Fire' was played to death, but I've not let that ruin it for me. KoL have changed massively since Youth & Young Manhood (which is still my favourite of theirs), and their sound has become bigger, more accessible... it is now far closer to the 'stadium rock' of a Coldplay than the dusty garage rock of their debut, but the bluesy influence of their southern roots remains intact. Despite the larger sound, the quality has not suffered and the boys are probably writing the catchiest 'big' rock & roll tunes this side of Arcade Fire.

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4. Vampire Weekend - Vampire Weekend

At the turn of the year, Vampire Weekend were the latest New York band being tipped as "the ones to watch" by those in the know. Here, they've delivered an album full of bouncy, somewhat quirky pop songs with bags of melody, 'smarter-than-you' lyrics and New England references that makes the bands 'preppyness' pretty obvious. Because of their well-to-do social background, The Strokes have become an easy comparison to make for music journos, but Vampire Weekends sound is less retro, less guitary and less spikey. The emphasis here is on light, melodic pop tunes with a bit of Afro-beat thrown in (hence the other easy comparison, Paul Simon). It's a record that doesn't sound like much else out there, and the band seems to be having a good time themselves, which transmits to the listener.

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3. Raphael Saadiq - The Way I See It

The former leader of r&b group Tony! Toni! Tone! (back when he was plain old Raphael Wiggins) has been threatening this album since his days in supergroup Lucy Pearl. This album should really have carried the name of his 2002 debut solo LP 'Instant Vintage'... all the tracks on here sound like genuine 60's soul staples. In his own words: "When I was making the album, I watched videos by Gladys Knight & The Pips, Al Green, The Four Tops... and fused them all together".

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2. Elzhi - The Preface

The ex-Slum Village member emerged from the shadow of his former colleague J Dilla by dropping 2008's best Hip Hop album by a mile. Blessed with the sample-driven aural landscape of Detroit's hottest beatsmith/emcee Black Milk, Elzhi raised his game accordingly and delivered a lyrical masterclass that steered well clear of the tiresome, ignorant thug/money cliches. Proof that real Hip Hop lives.

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1. Glasvegas - Glasvegas

Much-hyped at the end of 2007, but still the best album of the year, in my humble opinion. Thick Scottish accents, a Spectorish 'Wall Of Sound', bags of emotion, songs about having no dad, the murder of a child, alcoholic husbands and of course genuinely catchy indie/pop tunes that sound like old classics. I'm sure this album will stand the test of time. If you haven't got it, get it.

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Honourable mentions for those artists who didn't quite make my (pretty arbitrary) Top 10:

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Q-Tip - The Renaissance

Erykah Badu - New Amerykah Part 1

Fleet Foxes - Fleet Foxes

Neon Neon - Stainless Style

Santogold - Santogold

Lykke Li - Youth Novels

Black Milk - Tronic

Antony & The Johnsons - Another World EP

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Let's hope for an equally excellent 2009.

Best Albums of 2008 - Part 1

Numbers 10-6 of my (cross-genre) best albums of 2008. I'll get to Part 2 in the New Year:

10. Johnson & Jonson (Blu & Mainframe) - Johnson & Jonson

Conscious, soulful, everyman lyrics from LA's Blu (who delivers the fitting follow up that Below The Heavens deserved... we'll give him a pass for the C.R.A.C. project) and music with warmth that compliments the rhymes, courtesy of new beatsmith Mainframe resulted in one of the years best Hip Hop albums.

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9. Portishead - Third

After a 10,000 year break from the sharp end of the music industry, I was slightly worried that a new album from Portishead wouldn't be anywhere near as relevant or interesting as their important duo of LP's from the 90's. Then I heard the mind melting 'Machine Gun' and my fears were put to rest.

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8. White Denim - Workout Holiday

The Austin, Texas garage/blues-rock trio rode the crest of the wave created by their lead EP 'Let's Talk About It' and toured their high energy show extensively. They must be shattered. Punky, soulful, always raucous, often psychedelic but always technically excellent, White Denim provided a spiky and progressive alternative to the White Stripes or the Black Keys.

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7. Elbow - The Seldom Seen Kid

The lads from Bury struck gold in 2008, after years of digging, by winning the Mercury Music Prize ahead of my personal tip, Burial (who doesn't feature in this list on account of his Untrue album having been released in 2007). The Seldom Seen Kid is a soaring, beautiful album that can lift you up and carry you away. What more can I say...

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6. Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago...

After the breakup of a band, relationship, and a bout of sickness, Justin 'Bon Iver' Vernon left Raleigh, North Carolina and moved back to Wisconsin, spending three months alone in his father's cabin in the woods. The result is this gentle, atmospheric, heartbreaking and heartwarming folk album. Recorded entirely in the log cabin, Vernon plays all instruments, sings all backing vocals and presses the record and stop button himself (as his footsteps across the floor at the end of the standout 'Re: Stacks' will attest). Perfect listening whether you are up or down.

Guns n' Roses' "Chinese Democracy" - Rolling Stone Review

Rolling Stone magazine have heard and reviewed the loooooong awaited (not by me, I hasten to add) new album from Guns n' Roses; Chinese Democracy. Not exactly my kind of thing, but I've posted this for two reasons:

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(1) Bookies were offering long odds that this album doesn't get released this year, and it looks like they are going to lose money, which is always worth celebrating, and...

(2) It got a good review. A really good review. Which is frankly, unbelievable considering Axl Rose is a complete dick.

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Go HERE to read it.